Wicked(24)

U were shot by an ancient? Thought it was a thug?

That was the first text.

The second text read, u need to call me girl, bc every1 is saying cray cray shit.

I needed to talk to Val, but I really wasn't feeling it at the moment. Sending a text back that read I'll call you tomorrow, I was relieved when I got an okay from her.

Sighing, I opened up my door and nudged it shut behind me. The TV was about ten decibels too loud and was one of the Twilight movies—maybe New Moon. Tink was nowhere in sight as I walked across the hardwood floor and picked up the remote, turning the volume down. Placing it back on the old chest I'd converted into a coffee table, I gasped when I saw the couch.

A troll doll with bright green hair peeked out from behind the tan throw pillow, and its face, the color of suntan lotion, was frozen in a wide smile. It was also naked.

Sometimes Tink did that. Placed the damn dolls in weird places for me to find and be creeped out over. I snatched it up then walked down the hall and into the kitchen.

Tink sat on the island, crossed-legged in front of my laptop. I sighed. Yet another thing I needed to change the password to. He was so caught up in whatever he was watching, he didn't hear me walk up behind him. I bent over and blew on his bare back.

He shouted and shot up in the air, his wings beating rapidly as he whirled around, placing his hands like he was about to break out some kung fu. Despite the crappy evening I was having, a laugh bubbled out of me.

Tink dropped his hands to his chest and dragged in several deep breaths. "I think you gave me a heart attack. I can feel it in my chest. It's the big one." Pressing his hands to his front, he staggered back. "Oh no. It's happening. I'm about to die."

I tossed the doll at him. "Stop leaving these things laying around the house. It's weird."

He caught it, dropping slightly under the sudden weight. "I did no such thing. I told you what they do. They come alive when I'm sleeping. It's not my fault."

Rolling my eyes, I looked at the laptop. "Why do you have one of the Twilight movies on in the living room and Harry Potter on my laptop?"

"I'm doing research." He landed in front of my computer and placed the doll next to it. "Important research."

"Okay." I headed over to the table and shrugged off my backpack.

Tink flew over, hovering next to me. "How was your day, honey?"

I smiled faintly as I dropped the bag into the seat then zipped it open. "Not the greatest."

He cocked his head to the side. "You want to tell Dr. Tink all about it?"

"Thought you didn't like to be called Tink."

"Don't question my inconsistencies."

I laughed again. "I don't really want to talk about it." I pulled out the box of candies. "But I have pralines."

You'd think I pulled out a handful of naked brownies that were willing to live and serve Tink by the way he reacted. Buzzing around the kitchen excitedly, I was worried he was going to accidentally fly into one of the windows. Eventually he calmed down, and we ended up watching the rest of what turned out to be Eclipse and then Order of the Phoenix for whatever research purposes he wasn't ready to share. I was okay with the brain candy. It kept me from stressing over everything that had happened and what I'd have to do going forward.

I crashed a little after nine like a total loser, but I ate five more pralines before I rolled myself into bed, my stomach not appreciating the overdose of sweetness. Unable to fall asleep and striving to keep my mind free of all the crap, I grabbed a worn novel off my nightstand, cracking open Rule. A little after ten my eyes grew too heavy for me to keep open. I put the novel down, flipping off the light, and shifted onto my side. I wasn't sure exactly when I fell asleep, but when I blinked open my eyes, my bedroom was lit with a soft glow.

It took me a couple of seconds for my brain to process that there were only two lights in my bedroom. The ceiling one, which was much brighter, and the lamp on the nightstand, but I'd turned that off.

Thinking that Tink was being a freak again and had sneaked in my room, I started to roll onto my back, expecting to find a damn troll doll on the pillow next to mine, but my hip hit something warm and hard.

I froze as my heart skipped a beat.

Something was there, something that was way too big to be Tink, and then it moved, no longer resting against me. Instinct shot to the surface, and I shifted onto my back and sat up.

Déjà vu smacked into me, except this time I wasn't in an alley, but somehow unexpectedly staring into a pair of eyes the color of spring grass.

Son of a bitch.





Chapter Five





Part of my brain couldn't fathom what he was doing in my apartment—in my bedroom, sitting on my bed, giving me a half grin that revealed one deep dimple.